Garment.



J. D. STEEFEL.

GARMENT.

APPLIGATION FILED OCT. 20, 1910.

1,009,109, Patented Nov.21, 1911.

UNITED strA'rEs 'Partnr orar-ca.

JOSEPH D. STEEFEL, 0F ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR '10 STEEFEL, STRAUSS& CONNOR, 0F ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, .A FIRM.

GARMEN T.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, JOSEPH D. STEEFEL, of Rochester, in the county ofMonroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Garments; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and eXact description of the Same, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, forming a part of the specilication, and tothe reference numerals marked thereon.

My present invention relates to garments and particularly to vestsadapted for mens wear, and it has for its object to provide an articleof this character comprising only the two front portions which are heldin position by a neck band and back straps. In furtherance of myinvention I have provided a novel means of connecting the two portionsof vest at the neck bands whereby the garment may be made extremelylight in weight and caused to lit the body of wearer and to retain itsshape.

To these and other ends the invention consists in certain improvementsand combinations of parts all as will be hereinafter more fullydescribed, the novel features being pointed out in the claim at the endof the specification.

In the drawings: Figure l is a perspective view illustrating the generalappearance of a vest constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2is a rear view thereof, and Fig. 3 is an inside plan view showing thedetail construction of the neck band.

Similar reference numerals in the several figures indicate similarparts.

A vest embodying my invention is adapted particularly to be worn duringthe summer or warm weather and comprises only the two parts A and Bforming the fronts which meet at the center of the wearers body wherethey are provided with coperating buttons and button holes. The neckopening of the garment is formed by the two upper edges a and b whichmay meet at any desired point to form either a high or a low cut vest,as will be understood. The upper` ends of each side portion are madenarrow so as to spread out upon the wearers shoulders only slightly, asindicated at c and d, and from these points the lateral edges e and fextend downwardly over the breasts, the total width of the garment alongSpecification of Letters Patent. Application filed October 20, 1910.

Patented Nov. 21, 1911. serial No. 588,024.

these lines being just suflicient to position the rear edges within thelapels of the coa-t or outer garment, which is usually worn. These edgesat their lower ends curve rearwardly as indicated at e and f andterminate in the straps g and L, one of which is provided with a bucklez', by means of which the waist portion of the garment may be adjusted.

In the construction of a garment of this character considerabledifhculty has been eX- perienced in obtaining a proper t to the collarportion, both at its upper and lower edges, and along the lines formingthe continuations of both of these edges. It is irnportant that theedges a and Z) of the neck opening lie flat and be prevented fromsagging. This is a particular essential in the making of the garment forif one or the other of the two edges bulge it is a constant annoyance tothe wearer, and in his endeavor to pull the parts into place he twiststhe upper part of the garment on his body, and throws the line of thebuttons out of the true vertical line they should assume. It is alsoessential that the lateral edges eand f of the side pieces hug the bodyof the wearer and since these edges, like the edges a and b, are curvedthey must also be stayed and prevented from sagging as their springingor bulging will affect the appearance and it of the edges of the neckopening.

In practice I have found that in the manufacture of a skeleton garmentsuch as described above, where the upper ends of the side pieces A and Bare connected by a narrow neck band, it is desirable to interconnect theforward and rear edges of one of the side pieces with the rear andforward edges respectively with the other side piece.

In carrying out my invention I employ narrow tapes or stays y' and lcarranged as shown in Fig. 3, in which it will be seen that the rear endsof the stay pieces are stitched along the edges e and f, curved slightlyacross the neck band to overlap at the cenl ter thereof, and thencontinue along t-he edges a and to which their forward ends arestitched. This arrangement of the parts gives the necessary support tothe four edges and at the same time serves to maintain the neck band inproper position permitting it to lie fiat against the collar. This isaccomplished because no weight or strain is placed upon the band itself.This part of the garment might be omitted but as it adds to the finishedappearance of the garment it is preferably supplied.

A garment constructed in accordance with my invention affords a wearer aparticularly dressy appearance in Warm Weather and during those seasonsof the year when neglige costumes are in vogue, and by staying the edgesof the garment in the manner described it may be made of very lightWeight fabrics heretofore considered unserviceable for vests or otherskeleton garments.

I claim as my invention:

In a skeleton body garment the combination with tWo front portionshaving curved edges forming a neck opening and curved lateral edges, oftWo stays crossing at the back of the collar and each lsecured at itsopposite ends to the lateral edge of one front portion of the garmentand to the edge of the neck opening of the other front portion.

JOSEPH D. STEEFEL.

Witnesses: A

CHAS. F. MAXWELL7 H. M. STINE.

Copies 0f this patent may be obtained for ive cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner 0I Patents,

Washington, D. C.

